‘Red Dead Redemption 2’ Sales Hit $725M Over Three Days, Set Entertainment Record

Red Dead Redemption 2 is galloping into the record books thanks to its three-day haul of $725 million, which represents the single-biggest sales weekend enjoyed by any brand in any medium in entertainment history.

The Old West gunslinger epic was developed and published by Take-Two Interactive Software’s Rockstar Games, which also holds the overall record for the biggest three-day sales bonanza in entertainment history: Grand Theft Auto V raced off with $1 billion over three days in 2013, which still ranks as the most profitable launch of any entertainment product.

(The distinction between Grand Theft Auto V and Red Dead Redemption 2 and their respective records is their days of release — the carjacking game hit shelves on a Tuesday, not on a weekend.)

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Unit sales were not made available for Red Dead Dead Redemption 2 and, with console-bundled sales in the mix, the tally is an elusive one to determine mathematically.

Red Dead Redemption 2 is a prequel to the landmark 2010 game Red Dead Redemption and the third installment in the Red Dead franchise, which launched in 2004 with Red Dead Revolver. The new game is set in 1899 and follows the dusty trail of mayhem left in the wake of the outlaw Arthur Morgan and the gang he rides with, which is lead by the charismatic killer Dutch Van der Linde. The backdrop of the closing years of Old West era finds the gang in desperate straits with federal agents and elite bounty hunters hounding them and internal divisions testing their loyalties.

Reviews for the open-world cowboy game have been uniformly strong and frequently glowing. The Rockstar game’s release Friday also led to several new records for the PlayStation Network, where Red Dead Redemption now ranks as the most pre-ordered full game ever; biggest one-day seller among full games; and the biggest three-day seller among full games.